Wound management to minimize scarring

[onqhanoverians]

My wonderful 2 year old mare got loose at training stable, slipped and ended up with a nasty 2 inch diameter road abrasion at top of foreleg. So lucky not to have broken into muscle and is healing well. No lameness though VERY sore and stiff legged first 3 days.

What are current methods for minimizing scarring. I am cleaning everyday and today changed from Biozide to Aloe/VitE ointment. I added a capsule of natural vitamin E. Not sure, though, if this is best. Phone tag with my vet (seen by unknown ranch vet) tells me this is fine but want to know best.

Any wound managment gurus that will share? This mare is my beautiful, imported prize of a lifetime and due to be shown in-hand on May 9th.

[Dajuliz]

Sorry to hear about your mare. I know it is scarey but she will be ok. What works for my horses has been to keep the wound clean and bandaged with enough pressure to keep the wound edges together (but not too tight). My vet gave me an ointment called panalog. I think it helps control proud flesh. It works really well! Then as the good healthy tissue comes in, I will use a good simple antibiotic ointment (NFZ, Corona, even good old bag balm) until the hair starts to grow back. Vitamin E and Aloe Vera are fine and they certainly won't do any harm. Good luck!

[ThoroughbredFancy]

My TB tore quite the gash on his head once. Proud flesh, deep would, fleshy flab hanging off...the works.

I kept it clean and used Tri-Care™ 3-Way Wound Ointment by Farnam. It
s an antiseptic, pain reliever, and fly barrier for horse wounds.

It worked well and as the injury got better and was less deep I used some Aloe cream. He has almost no scarring.

[Estelle]

Underwoods Horse Medicine if your willing to follow the intructions this is the best stuff there is hands down.

[Evalee Hunter]

Ask on the breeding forum about using placenta - yes, mare's placenta, specially prepared. I know this has been successful for large wounds. Some breeder's keep a placenta or two & prepare it & freeze it.

[merrygoround]

Road rash is a burn like injury. I would use a Silversulfoxide ointment on it, and go lightly with the cleaning between cream applications. I usually spread a 1/8" layer on and leave it there.

[onqhanoverians]

Thanks for all the input. Placenta..hmmm...that sounds interesting. I will have to think about freezing when my mare foals in June if room in freezer.

I think wound looks good as it could. I switched back to Biozide today because it was close at hand thinking wound was not quite healed enough for aloe/E which usually I put on at tail end of healing. And could not stitch because when she slid on road, her skin was sanded off with about 2 inch diameter round open wound. It is now building nice flesh from edges toward center and nothing crazy looking that may be proud flesh so far. Can't be bandaged because of location, on upper outside foreleg on bulging muscle where leg attaches. She licks at the medicine sometimes so I was afraid to try the Underwoods Horse Medicine but think I should get some to have on hand.

I am glad barn is only 5 miles away so my husband and I can treat and check daily.

[Evalee Hunter]

Thanks for all the input. Placenta..hmmm...that sounds interesting. I will have to think about freezing when my mare foals in June if room in freezer. . . .

Get the procedure from someone. It is not simply take the placenta & freeze it. You cut it into pieces & process it through (if I remember correctly) saline baths & stuff before you freeze. But it makes an incredibly effective healing cover over large wounds.

[JumpWithPanache]

My mare recently slipped a leg through a fence (actually about a month and a half ago) and managed a pretty decent gash on her fetlock and "road rash" from her blanket strap. I used a topical ointment which I think was called Derma Gel that kick started the healing process and prevented any proudflesh. Once there was a layer of light skin across I switched back to your standard drugstore triple-antibiotic ointment. This has worked for me, and I usually use the ointment for any scrape that takes hair off or barely breaks skin. Each wound (knock on wood) has healed without scarring.

[mrsbradbury]

Road rash is a burn like injury. I would use a Silversulfoxide ointment on it, and go lightly with the cleaning between cream applications. I usually spread a 1/8" layer on and leave it there.

Is this the same as Silver Sulfadiazine? You will need an RX, or ask if someone else in your barn has any. It is wonderful, wonderful. Human medicine uses it on burn victims, and my mother used on reconstructive surgery after a dog bite.

I have thrown all the other stuff out of the tack trunk, and use this exclusively.:D

FYI: If you are allergic to sulfa drugs you cannot handle this ointment.:no:

[Oldenburg Mom]

I swear by a Swiss formula, and have two examples to back me up. The first was an injury,...deep...about the size of a baseball. The second was the same ... but it was a bite, and not as deep.

Both injuries were serious and could easily have become infected. We followed the directions exactly, and the wounds were completely healed within a month...and NO WHITE HAIR!!!!

Look for Derma-Gel or Skin Renovator. Made by the same company...and just about the same stuff. You really won't believe how effective it is!!!

[BoyleHeightsKid]

Look for Derma-Gel or Skin Renovator. Made by the same company...and just about the same stuff. You really won't believe how effective it is!!!

:yes: DermaGel is awesome... A couple of years ago my gelding suffered a 3 inch gash on the outside of his left hind just below the hock all the way down to the tendon sheath. The DermaGel kept the proud flesh away. There's only a tiny scar there now with no white hairs... I keep a tube of that stuff around all the time.

[trilogy]

about 7 years ago I used Derma gel on a horse that took off most of the skin off a hind leg from hock to pastern. Horse had to have surgery with skin graphs and everything. Last year I saw hors efor the first tiem in 5 years and nobody would have beleive that horse had such a tramatic injury. Have used derm gel many many times since then even on minimal wounds with fantastic results

[MunchkinsMom]

I just went to the Derma Gel website - ARG - too much red background color, it gave me a headache. I need to find another online source of information. Sounds like a good product to have on hand.

[Saddith]

I second the panalog. I have used it on different types of wounds, with great hair regrowth. It seems to keep the proud flesh away too. I used it on my friends horse with a fairly deep gash on his canon - and it healed up really well, with minimum scarring. I used it for a bandage burn (I know, I know - bad horse mom!) and it worked for those types of wounds too.

I haven't tried the derma gel, but it looks interesting. I may have to get some to have on hand because my horse seems to get scrapes fairly regularly.